tea size will be perfect. Larger will be useless. Anyway the surface of the spoon touching the shoe won't vary at all, even with a ladle! I didn't mention but this is exactly what it does: "brings the natural oils to the surface". You should be very careful with the spoon because you'll want to rub it fast but it might slip and scratch the shoe... You really don't want that to happen.

It may sound weird but I use a small spoon on my shells. I rub the rounded face till it gets hot (you can feel it with your thumb). Immediately after, I energetically brush the shoe. Again and again. At the time I took these pictures, I only used the spoon on the left shoe (the right one when I wear it). The spoon may have the same effect on shell than does a deer bone (which I never used). This is probably why the left shoe (see its point on the picture below)...

That's bad for such a long wait... You are - of course - right to return them. I don't know how much you paid for them but I guess I'm not wrong to tell you that you will easily find another pair like these without waiting any longer. I wouldn't wait nearly 6 more months for #8 jumper boots, at least if they don't have anything 'special'. My 2 cents.

Thanks! They must have mixed up the Ravello and Whiskey secret recipes! I really like Whiskey - and especially this pair - since you can easily see the different color variations. Relatively very dark on the point and lighter where it creases. Nothing new about this though. I wish Whiskey weren't so rare to find, need more now.

Some pictures I took a few weeks ago.
You already know them by heart: the Alden LWB.
My first Whiskey LWB.
The right one nearly looks like Ravello. Probably because I brushed it a lot more than its sister - on the left (from my point of view).
I only used a damp cloth, a brush and a small spoon.